SUNGMAS, THE LIVING ORACLES OF THE
TIBETAN CHURCH
BY JOSEPH F. ROCK
AUTHOR OF "THE GLORIES OF THE MINYA KONKA,"
"KONKA RISUMGONGBA, HOLY MOUNTAIN OF THE OUTLAWS,"
"LIFE AMONG THE LAMAS OF CHONI," ETC., IN THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE.
NCIENT Greece had her oracle of
Delphi; Tibet has her Sungmas,*
men believed to have similar
powers.
Sungmas are neither sorcerers
nor incarnations, but the abodes of malig
nant spirits, or spirits of demonized heroes
who, subdued by saintly lamas or high
incarnations, have become the protectors of
religion.
These roving demon spirits, obedient to
the spells cast over them, are said to select
either a lama or a layman as their abode
during the lifetime of the person thus se
lected. Distinct from incarnations, they
manifest themselves involuntarily as well as
voluntarily in their chosen abodes.
CONSULTING THE SUNGMAS COSTLY
Any lamasery with a claim to importance
has its oracle, though some of the supposed
Sungmas are impostors who work them
selves into frenzy merely for pecuniary gain.
Every Sungma has his fee, the amount de
pending on the importance of his demon
spirit, and the wealth of the person who
seeks the augury. Sometimes as much as
1,000 tankas ($100 or more) will be
exacted.
Whether oral or written, the replies the
Sungmas give to questions have true Del
phic vagueness and ambiguity. They con
fine themselves mainly to advice concerning
the performance of meritorious deeds to
counteract evil influences or ward off ca
lamities. The questions usually are written
on slips of paper and handed to the Sungma,
who, without looking at them, holds them
above his head and "answers" them with
incredible rapidity.
Often the replies are animal-like grunts
which the attendant lama, through whom
the questions have been presented, professes
to interpret. The groans and moans issuing
from the foaming mouth of the so-called
possessed lend themselves, of course, to con
siderable freedom of interpretation.
Although there are many Sungmas, gen
uine or pretending, throughout Tibet, the
* The word phonetically is spelled Srun-ma, the
r is silent, pronounced Sung-ma, meaning guardian,
the guardian of religion, or protector of religion.
five of real importance reside in Lhasa. One
of them, recognized as the State oracle, Na
chung, is consulted by the Dalai Lama.
These oracles play an important role in
the selection of high incarnations, or in the
search for the incarnation of a deceased
Dalai Lama. All five are consulted and
their answers checked. Before action can
be taken, the five must be found to agree on
the identity of the child believed to be the
incarnation, the name and appearance of its
mother, the location and description of the
house it resides in, and the details of its
surroundings.
It was in the winter of 1928 at the lama
sery of Yungning in northwestern Yunnan
that I learned of the existence of these mys
terious Sungmas. The abbot told me that
the famous Balung chfi dje, one of the Sung
mas of Lhasa, was to perform in Yung
ning at the Feast of the Lights on the
day of commemoration of the death of
Tsong K'apa, founder of the Yellow lama
church.
The human abode, or chu dje, of Sungma
Balung chfi dje, was the person of a Chung
tien lama, a native of the Tongwa (Tibetan)
tribe, the son of a Tongwa bandit chief of
northwest Yunnan. This "possessed" lama,
who had been residing in Lhasa for several
years, had stopped at Yungning on his way
to visit his birthplace in Chungtien. He is
said to be the abode of the powerful demon
Chechin.
There are several Sungmas who are sup
posed to be the chfi dje of Chechin. Of
these the most important is a lama called
Betin Konser chfi dje from the name of
Chechin's house on the market square of
Lhasa; and the second in rank is the one I
saw perform in Yungning-Balung chfi dje,
named after another residence of Chechin.
As their names indicate, they are considered
"houses" of Chechin.
PREPARATION FOR A TRANCE
Both Balung chfi dje and Betin Konser
chfi dje, before going into a trance; that is,
before Chechin takes possession of them,
don the robes of a Sungma-elaborately
decorated embroidered garments often made